If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at IDEX (NYSE:IEX) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for IDEX, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.11 = US$700m ÷ (US$6.8b - US$584m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).
So, IDEX has an ROCE of 11%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 11%.
View our latest analysis for IDEX
Above you can see how the current ROCE for IDEX compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering IDEX for free.
How Are Returns Trending?
In terms of IDEX's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 11% from 17% five years ago. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.
In Conclusion...
Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by IDEX's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 23% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.
If you're still interested in IDEX it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation for IEX to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.